Dragon looked mildly surprised by Doflamingo’s introduction.
He thought for a moment before raising an eyebrow.
“The North Blue… Are you referring to the Donquixote Family that built its fortune through smuggling?” “That’s us,” Doflamingo confirmed.
Dragon studied him for another moment.
“You’re the former Celestial Dragon?” Doflamingo sighed helplessly.
“Does everyone know about that part of my past?” Dragon smiled.
“Everyone important enough to know does.” After a brief pause, he asked, “What brings you here?” Despite their short conversation, Doflamingo sensed no obvious hostility in Dragon’s voice.
Dragon did not appear particularly bothered by the fact that he was speaking to a notorious criminal.
In fact, he seemed surprisingly approachable.
Doflamingo relaxed slightly and replied with a probing joke.
“You make it sound as though someone like me has no right to be here.” Dragon blinked.
Then his expression turned serious.
“My apologies.
Knowledge belongs to everyone.
That was thoughtless of me.” Doflamingo did not pursue the matter.
Instead, he spoke with a trace of melancholy.
“As for why I’m here… Perhaps I’ve been feeling lost.” “Lost?” Something shifted in Dragon’s eyes.
“What has left you feeling that way?” “I suppose the world has become increasingly difficult for me to understand.” Doflamingo considered his words before continuing.
“As you know, I was once a Celestial Dragon.
I lived in Mary Geoise and believed myself to be a god.” “Whatever I wanted was placed in front of me.
I accepted that life as something I naturally deserved.” “I never gave any thought to the deeper questions surrounding the world.” Dragon smiled faintly.
“Forgive my bluntness, but most Celestial Dragons I’ve encountered are exactly like that.” “Fuffuffuffu… You’re not wrong,” Doflamingo agreed.
He continued after a moment.
“But in the ten years since leaving Mary Geoise, I’ve experienced things that most people could never imagine.” “The more I saw, the more I was forced to reconsider everything I once believed.” “Not long ago, I finally realized something.” Doflamingo’s voice grew quieter.
“This world should not be the way it is.” Dragon’s eyes brightened.
“What do you believe the world should be like?” Doflamingo looked at him as though he had asked something foolish.
“Would I still feel lost if I already knew the answer?” In truth, Doflamingo did not feel lost at all.
Nor was he the sort of person who would spend his life wrestling with philosophical questions about what the world ought to become.
As far as he was concerned, the answer was simple.
The world should be shaped according to Donquixote Doflamingo’s wishes.
A world he disliked had no value worth preserving.
At present, he was not its ruler.
He had been cast out of Mary Geoise and denied everything he believed belonged to him.
He hated such a world.
So he intended to tear it apart and rebuild it into something he found more pleasing.
The only reason he was speaking so thoughtfully now was because he suspected Dragon would appreciate it.
Dragon shook his head with a helpless smile.
“You’re right.
If you already had the answer, you wouldn’t be searching for it.” “What about you?” Doflamingo asked naturally.
“Why are you here?” “Perhaps for the same reason.” Dragon considered the question.
“I’ve also been struggling to understand this world.
I hoped the wisdom of those who came before us might help me find an answer.” He smiled.
“To tell you the truth, I’ve already been staying here for quite some time.
I’ve read many of the books on this floor.” Doflamingo remembered that after Ohara’s destruction in the original timeline, Dragon had come to the island carrying flowers to mourn Professor Clover and the other scholars.
Perhaps their relationship had begun during this period.
Then again, it was possible they had never been particularly close.
Dragon may simply have admired Clover and Ohara’s ideals from afar.
“Have you found your answer?” Doflamingo asked.
Dragon was not yet the leader of the Revolutionary Army.
At present, he belonged to the Freedom Fighters, a civilian resistance group.
Such armed organizations naturally emerged in regions where piracy ran rampant and the Marines lacked the manpower to protect every island.
If Doflamingo remembered correctly, Dragon had served in the Marines at some point during his youth.
For reasons that remained unclear, he later abandoned them and joined the Freedom Fighters.
After the Great Pirate Era began, his beliefs would become increasingly radical.
Then, following Ohara’s destruction, he would establish the Revolutionary Army and eventually become the World Government’s greatest enemy.
In that sense, the Freedom Fighters could be regarded as the organization’s predecessor.
Dragon smiled and waved his hand.
“Of course not.” He looked up through the skylight.
Moonlight washed over his features, softening his expression.
“But the Tree of Knowledge has taught me something.” “The age changes from one moment to the next, and the world changes with it.” “The wisdom of our predecessors cannot simply hand us the answers.” “It is more like a light illuminating the road ahead.” “We can follow that light, but if we truly want answers, we must search for them ourselves.” Dragon’s gaze drifted toward the distant sea.
“The real answers will always be found out there.” Doflamingo raised an eyebrow.
“So you’re saying that true understanding comes from experience?” Dragon stared at him for a moment.
Then he slapped one palm against the other.
“Exactly!” “That expresses it far more clearly.
If we seek an answer, we must go out into the world and discover it ourselves.” Dragon had not taken Doflamingo particularly seriously when their conversation began.
He had merely found it interesting that they happened to meet inside the Tree of Knowledge in the middle of the night.
After speaking with him, however, Dragon began to realize that this former Celestial Dragon and self-proclaimed North Blue criminal possessed ideas capable of sparking entirely new thoughts.
That assessment was not entirely wrong.
Doflamingo could never build an ideological movement from nothing or inspire an army through genuine moral conviction.
Such things were not in his nature.
But when it came to discussing grand theories, criticizing society, and confidently talking about how the world should be transformed, he could continue for hours.
And so he did.
Doflamingo and Dragon spoke for more than two hours.
By the end, Doflamingo’s throat had gone dry, while Dragon looked increasingly energized, as though he had gained something valuable from every exchange.
When Doflamingo judged that enough time had passed, he finally brought the discussion to an end.
“It’s getting late.
We should probably return and rest.” “We’ve barely begun,” Dragon protested immediately.
“I still haven’t fully understood what you said about productive forces shaping social relations.” Doflamingo cleared his throat with exaggerated dignity.
“Dragon, we are standing inside the Tree of Knowledge, surrounded by humanity’s accumulated wisdom.” “That should make you understand better than anyone how valuable knowledge is.” Dragon blinked.
Then his brows drew together.
“You want me to pay you?” Before Doflamingo could reply, Dragon continued generously.
“How much?
I can live off my father’s salary and support you.” Doflamingo stared at him.
What a wonderfully devoted son.
No wonder they had been able to sit together and talk so comfortably.
Still, Doflamingo waved the offer aside.
“Knowledge is priceless.” He smiled.
“So rather than money, I believe we should exchange something of equal value.” “What do you want?” Dragon asked.
Doflamingo adopted an utterly sincere expression.
“I’ve been frail and sickly since childhood.” “I’ve always wanted to learn some martial arts so I could improve my health.”